And so, the journey began again, Kee making his way out of the cavernous mine. Using his magic sense, he mapped about 70% of the winding tunnels, dispatching the majority of the monsters he encountered with practiced ease.
“What are the power levels in this world?” he asked as he navigated through the dimly lit passages.
“Hmm,” Yelena pondered, her voice floating in his mind. “I’d rate you as slightly above decent—strong for the average human. You’ve been killing monsters that would be considered tough for most humans. But, by the way, what are you? A majin or a human?”
“I don’t know,” Kee admitted, the truth of his origins still unclear. “I think I was artificially created?”
“So, a homunculus that gained a soul?” she mused.
“Appropriate, but the thing you called the 'Voice of the World' says I’m a humanoid,” Kee clarified.
“...Really?” Yelena's surprise lingered in her tone. 'Wow, he keeps getting more interesting. That’s a race I’ve only heard of once before. I’ll have to tell him later,' she thought to herself.
“Yes, really,” Kee said, pressing on, “and stop dodging my questions. What’s my power level?”
“You’re a step below a Saint or a Demon Lord’s seed,” Yelena answered, casually withholding the details.
“What is that?” Kee asked, confused.
“Just wait. I’ll give you a reference when we get outside,” Yelena promised.
“Alright,” Kee relented.
When they finally reached the entrance, Kee was met with an unexpected problem.
“The door’s locked again…” he muttered. “Yelena, do you know how to get out?”
“Yeah,” she responded playfully.
“Could you tell me?” Kee asked, hoping for a straightforward answer.
“No,” she replied, mischief in her voice. “Also, I challenge you to open it without destroying it.”
“Why?” Kee groaned.
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“Well, you wouldn’t want the monsters in here escaping, right? They could mess up the entire forest’s ecosystem and rampage through it,” Yelena reasoned.
“True. But why can’t I just destroy it?”
“A challenge,” Yelena teased.
“Ugh…” Kee sighed.
“Wait, I’ll tell you why your magic can’t project outside your body—and how you might fix it,” Yelena offered, her voice turning serious.
“I’m listening,” Kee replied, his curiosity piqued.
“There’s a mechanism inside the cave to open the door, different from the one outside. If you figure it out, I’ll give you the answer as a reward.”
“Deal,” Kee said. “How about a hint?”
“Can’t you see the characters written on the door?” Yelena asked.
“Oh! It says, ‘What kind of room has no doors or windows?’ Hmm… isn’t that a box? Why isn’t it opening even though I gave the answer?” Kee wondered aloud.
If Kee could have seen Yelena’s face, it would have been a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. 'How can one be so senseless?' she thought.
“That’s obviously the wrong answer,” Yelena said. “And can’t you see the stone plaque? It’s clear the answer is a physical object… Never mind. It’s fine. Try again. I’d like to hear more of your guesses.”
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Two hours later…
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“You know,” Kee began, “I get that it’s supposed to be a physical object, but we’re inside a cave, not a room. It must be a metaphor… or a pun… Mushroom!”
“Oh, you got it on your 200th try. Color me surprised,” Yelena said, a sarcastic edge to her tone. “But you really sucked the fun out of it by solving it so quickly. I thought it would take you at least 12 to 48 hours.”
“It’s obvious,” Kee said. “You asked me to carry everything I found along the way because it might be useful—grass, mushrooms, ores. And except for the poisonous mushrooms, everything seemed helpful.”
“Idiot,” Yelena scoffed. “Even poison, when used skillfully, can be medicine.”
“True. I thought you wanted me to feed it to you if I—” Kee stopped himself, a smirk spreading across his face. “Never mind.”
“I’m immune to poison,” Yelena retorted. “And you’re resistant. Even if you ate it without analyzing it, you wouldn’t die.”
“I know we wouldn’t die. But I wonder what it would do to your taste buds?” Kee said, his grin widening into something mischievous as a small “hee hee” escaped his lips.
Yelena shuddered at the thought, feeling her stomach churn. She was a picky eater, despite not needing food to survive. The memory of bitter, stingy flavors from the last time she had eaten food for amusement flashed in her mind, making her feel queasy.
“COME! See the sun for the first time in centuries!” Kee declared, placing the mushroom in the mechanism and pushing the door open.
“Hahahahahaha! Yeah, look—the white sun in a black morning sky! Hahaha!” Yelena laughed, mocking the situation.
“Ugh! Okay, fine. I get it’s night. But at least you can see the sun’s light reflecting off the moon,” Kee muttered.
“So, what’s your next move?” Yelena asked, her curiosity returning.
“I’ll head back toward the kingdom I ran away from. I need to purchase a map and learn more about the world’s specialties before deciding where I want to travel first.”
'Or i might just go wherever my feet take me' added Kee to himself.
“Alright,” Yelena replied, her voice drifting off. “I’m going to sleep for a bit. Wake me when we get there. Also… stop chatting with me so much. ZzzZzzZzzZzz…”
And with that, Yelena fell into a quiet slumber while Kee set off on his next adventure.